Table 3.
Summary of fNIRS studies correlating cerebral hemodynamic changes with depression symptomatology.
| Source | Country | Sample size (male/female) | Age (mean ± standard deviation) | Diagnostic criteria instrument | Psychopathology measure for symptomatology | Specific symptomatology | NIRS device/no. of channels | Paradigm | Brain area | Main finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawano et al. (76) | Japan | N: 25 *included other disorders |
44.1 ± 9.3 | DSM-IV | HAMD | Depressive symptoms | 22-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | F, T | – The integral value of blood flow in frontal lobe was negatively correlated with the degree of depression |
| Onishi et al.4 (77) | Japan | N: 10 (5/5) | 71.0 ± 6.0 | DSM-IV | HAMD MMSE |
Depressive symptoms Cognitive functioning |
48-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | Rock, paper, scissors (RPS) | PF | – Negative correlation between ratio of HAMD and oxy-Hb was observed. |
| Hirano et al.2,4 (50) | Japan | N: 30 (11/19) *inclusive of bipolar patients |
59.4 ± 14.2 | ICD-10 | MADRS QIDS-SR MMSE |
Depressive symptoms Cognitive functioning |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | PF, T | – After ECT, the reduction of degree of depression was associated with increase in oxy-Hb values in the right ventrolateral PF cortex. – Changes in oxy-Hb is significantly interrelated with MADRS score ↓ but not significantly correlated with ↓ in total QIDS-SR total scores. |
| Masuda et al.2,4 (48) | Japan | N: 47 Response group to SSRIs: 28 (15/13) Nonresponse group: 19 (6/13) |
Response group: 48.9 ± 2.9 Nonresponse group: 43.2 ± 3.3 |
DSM-IV | POMS STAI DACS |
Anxiety symptoms Depressive symptoms |
47-Channel ETG-7100 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Hemodynamic responses in medial F region were significantly greater before treatment in patients with a response to SSRIs than those with no response. |
| Kondo et al.2 (53) | Japan | N: 25 (17/8) | 36 ± 8.91 | DSM-IV | HAMD | Depressive symptoms | 44-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | Image-recall task | F, T | – A noteworthy negative correlation between oxy-Hb and HAMD score was seen in left F region during the unpleasant condition. – ↓ in oxy-Hb in left F lobe was associated to degree of depression. |
| Koseki et al. (78) | Japan | MDD: 75 (39/36) | 39.23 ± 12.49 | DSM-IV | HAMD ATQ-R NART STAI |
Depressive symptoms Automatic thoughts State/trait anxiety |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | PF, T | – Activation in right superior temporal gyrus was associated to deviation to negative of the proportion of negative and positive thought. |
| Zhu et al.2 (54) | China | Affective disorder (AD): 28 (8/20) |
23.32 ± 5.01 | DSM-IV | SDS | Depressive symptoms | 42-Channel FOIRE-3000 (Shimadzu) |
Resting state | F | – Degree of self-reported symptoms of depression was negatively associated with strength of intraregional and symmetrically interhemispheric connectivity in the PFC. |
| Uemura et al.2 (56) | Japan | N: 13 (6/7) | 74.5 ± 5.8 | NA | GDS MMSE |
Depressive symptoms | 8-Channel FOIRE-3000 (Shimadzu) | TMT-B | PF | – Both oxy-Hb activation in left and right hemisphere were significantly negatively associated with GDS. |
| Noda et al.2 (59) | Japan | N: 30 (14/16) | 36.7 ± 11.6 | DSM-IV (SCID-I) |
GRID-HAMD | Depressive symptoms | 52-Channels ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | F, T | – Average increase in oxy-Hb during the task revealed a significant negative association with the HAMD total scores. |
| Akiyama et al.2 (61) | Japan | N: 177 (73/104) | 47.2 ± 15.1 | DSM-IV-TR | HAMD PHQ-9 |
Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | PF, T | – Left lateral F-T activation was significantly ↓ in the group with depressed mood or anhedonia. |
| Tomioka et al.2,4 (46) | Japan | N: 25 (3/22) | 51.9 ± 16.6 | DSM-IV | HAMD | Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | PF, T | -Patients with MDD who revealed ↑ baseline oxy-Hb activation while performing VFT in the inferior F and middle T regions showed more improvements in depressive symptoms after being treated. |
| Rosenbaum et al.2 (72) | Germany | N: 49 *inclusive of other disorders |
64.08 ± 7.06 | NA | BDI GDS |
Depressive symptoms Cognitive functioning |
38-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
TMT-A TMT-B TMT-C | F, P | – Depressed patients revealed ↓ FC in a left frontopolar cortical network while doing task performance ↑ FC in a left frontoparietal cortical network at the resting state. |
| Yamagata et al.2 (58) | Japan | Early-onset depression (EOD): 11 (2/9) Late-onset depression (LOD): 12 (3/9) |
EOD: 68.4 ± 5.6 LOD: 70.2 ± 1.9 |
DSM-IV | HAMD MMSE |
Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000, NIRS system (Hitachi) |
WFT | F, T | – HAMD score exhibited negative correlations with oxy-Hb for two channels. |
| Akashi et al. (79) | Japan | n = 48 | NA | NA | NA | Inhibitory deficit | 47-Channel NIRS | Stop-signal task | F | – MDD showed the variations of brain dysfunctions correlated in the inhibitory controls. |
| Satomura et al. (80) | Japan | Initial (T0)–N: 65 After 1.5 years (T1.5)–N: 45 |
39.8 ± 11.8 | DSM-IV (SCID-I) |
HAMD GAF |
Depressive symptoms Global functioning |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Brain activation in the bilateral MFG and right IFG as calculated by NIRS may differentially denote clinical severity and trait-related anomalies in MDD. |
| Ohtani et al.2,4 (47) | Japan | N: 10 (4/6) | 39.2 ± 12.1 | DSM-IV | SASS HAMD |
Social adaptation Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) | VFT | PF, T | – Longitudinal changes in SASS scores were positively related with magnitude of change in the right VLPFC/aTC activation in MDD group. |
| Pu et al.2 (64) | Japan | Late-onset MDD (LOD): N: 24 (6/18) |
72.3 ± 5.5 | DSM-IV (MINI) |
BDI HAMD SASS MMSE |
Depressive symptoms Social functioning |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Average oxy-Hb changes in LOD patients had a significantly positive association with SASS scores. |
| Pu et al.2 (66) | Japan | Late-onset depression (LOD): 36 (9/27) | 71.8 ± 5.1 | DSM-IV (MINI) |
BDI HAMD SASS MMSE |
Depressive symptoms Social functioning |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
Working memory (WM) task | PF, T | – Reduced activation in PF and T regions was significantly associated to ↓ scores on the SASS in patient group and might act as a biological marker of social functioning in LOD patients. |
| Pu et al.2 (74) | Japan | N: 26 (11/15) | 47.9 ± 19.2 | DSM-IV-TR (MINI) |
HAMD BDI CISS |
Depressive symptoms Coping styles |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Regional hemodynamic changes were ↓ in MDD group compared to the control group in PF and T areas, and positively interrelated with task-oriented coping (adaptive coping) in the various PF regions. |
| Pu et al.2 (81) | Japan | N: 67, 31 with suicidal ideation and 36 without | 58.1 ± 16.0 | DSM-IV (MINI) |
HAMD | Suicidal ideation | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Hemodynamic variations correlated negatively with the degree of suicidal thinking in OFC, FPC, and DLPFC. |
| Nishida et al.2 (71) | Japan | N: 14 (7/7) | 46.2 ± 11.9 | DSM-IV-TR (MINI) | HAMD PSQI ESS |
Depressive symptoms Sleep quality |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF, T | – Significant negative correlations between average oxy-Hb variations during VFT and PSQI scores. – Mean oxy-Hb changes showed no significant correlations with ESS scores. – No significant association between average oxy-Hb variations during the task and sleep variables. |
| Tsujii et al.2 (70) | Japan | MDD with melancholia (MDD-M): 32 (16/16) MDD without melancholia (MDD-NM): 28 (15/13) |
MDD-MF: 40.8 ± 15.3 MDD-NMF: 38.9 ± 11.8 |
DSM-IV (MINI) |
BDI-II SIGH-D GAF |
Depressive symptoms Psychomotor retardation |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | F, T | – No meaningful associations between average oxy-Hb changes and GAF/HAMD/BDI-II total scores. – Psychomotor retardation on HAMD indicated noteworthy positive correlation with average oxy-Hb changes in right T areas in MDD-MF but revealed significant negative association with average oxy-Hb changes in the middle to left T region in MDD-NMF. |
| Tsujii et al.2 (67) | Japan | MDD with melancholia (MDD-M): 30 (15/15) MDD without melancholia (MDD-NM): 52 (18/34) |
MDD-M: 42.2 ± 11.8 MDD-NM: 40.6 ± 11.7 |
DSM-IV (MINI) |
HAMD SF-36 |
Depressive symptoms Quality of life |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | F, T | MDD-M patients reveal qualitatively dissimilar prefrontal dysfunction patterns correlated with emotional role functioning as compared to MDD-NM patients. |
| Wang et al.2 (69) | China | First-episode MDD (fMDD): 36 (15/21) Recurrent MDD (rMDD): 34 (11/23) |
fMDD: 38.75 ± 13.86 rMDD: 43.26 ± 13.85 |
DSM-IV | HAMD | Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | F, T | -rMDD group had ↓ increases in oxy-H comparing to the fMDD group. |
| Liu et al.2 (68) | China | N: 30 (12/18) | 38.38 ± 12.8 | DSM-IV-TR | HAMD HAMA Y-BOCS |
Depressive, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive symptoms |
52-Channel FOIRE-3000 (Shimadzu) |
VFT | PF | – Average oxy-Hb changes revealed significant positive correlation with HAMD scores. -No statistical relationship was witnessed on the degree of obsessive–compulsive symptoms. |
| Rosenbaum et al.2 (52) | Germany | N: 60 | 40 ± 14.79 | DSM-IV (SCI) |
PHQ-9 MADRS |
Depressive symptom State and trait aspect of rumination |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
RRS VAS Self-report on inner experience |
P | – Subjects who are depressed revealed ↓ functional connectivity in parts of the DMN compared to HCs. – mind-wandering revealed positive associations, whereas rumination was negatively associated with FC in the cortical parts of the DMN |
| Okada et al.2 (55) | Japan | N: 36 (24/12) | Male: 23.3 ± 2.5 Female: 21.3 ± 1.1 |
DSM-III-R | HAMD | Depressive symptoms | Multichannel near-IR spectrophotometry | Mirror drawing task (MDT) | Left and right hemispheres | – Nearly half of the patients revealed a “nondominant hemisphere response pattern,” which was not witnessed in normal subjects during the MDT. – During the course of depression, the supposedly “nondominant” hemisphere may become dominant. |
| Kinou et al.2 (57) | Japan | N: 32 (15/17) *included HC, MDD, schizophrenia |
44.8 ± 9.8 | DSM-IV | HAMD Global assessment of functioning |
Depressive symptoms | 52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF | – Lower Global Functioning scores were correlated with ↓ hemodynamic responses. |
| Takei et al.2 (63) | Japan | N: 29 (14/15) | 34.5 ± 9.0 | DSM-IV | HAMD GAF |
Depressive symptoms Cognitive functioning |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
Conversation task and control task | F, T | -Prompt change in activation was positively associated with GAF scores in the MDD patients. |
| Ohi et al.2 (62) | Japan | N: 26 (17/9) | 41.1 ± 12.7 | DSM-5 | HAMD Clinical interview for family history |
Depressive symptoms Family history/familial loadings |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | PF | – Illustration of the association of significantly more severe PF dysfunction with higher genetic loading in major mental illnesses. |
| Tsujii et al.2 (65) | Japan | MDD: suicide attempters (SAs): 30 (8/22) nonattempters (NAs): 38 (16/22) |
MDD (SAs): 37.6 ± 10.0 MDD (NAs): 38.8 ± 9.7 |
DSM-IV (MINI) |
HAMD Barratt impulsiveness scale Buss– Perry aggression questionnaire Beck hopelessness scale |
Depressive symptoms Impulsivity Aggression Hopelessness |
52-Channel ETG-4000 (Hitachi) |
VFT | F, T | – SAs revealed smaller hemodynamic response in the left precentral gyrus than NAs and HCs. – Hemodynamic responses in the right middle F gyrus were negatively correlated with aggression and hopelessness in SAs. |
2This article can also be found in the summary in Table 2.
4This article can also be found in the summary in Table 4.
MDD, major depressive disorder; HC, healthy control; HAMD, Hamilton depression rating scale; VFT, verbal fluency task; PF, prefrontal; T, temporal, F, frontal; NA, not available; MINI, Mini-international neuropsychiatric interview; DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual; ICD, International Classification of Disease; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; SASS, school and staffing survey; POMS, profile of mood states; STAI, state-trait anxiety inventory; MADRS, Montgomery–Asberg depression rating scale; QIDS-SR, quick inventory of depressive symptomatology-self report; DSRS, dementia severity rating scale; HAMA, Hamilton anxiety rating scale; GDS, geriatric depression scale; PHQ, patient health questionnaire; BDI, Beck depression inventory; TMT, trail-making test; SCID, structured clinical interview for DSM-IV; IFG, inferior frontal gyrus; MFG, medial frontal gyrus; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; OFC, orbitofrontal cortex; FPC, frontopolar cortex; PSQI, Pittsburgh sleep quality index; ESS, Epworth sleepiness scale; SIGH-D, structured interview guide for the Hamilton depression rating scale; Y-BOCS, Yale–Brown obsessive–compulsive scale; RRS, rumination response scale; VAS, visual analog scale; DMN, default mode network; MDT, mirror drawing task; GAF, global assessment of functioning; ATQR, Automatic thoughts questionnaire-revised.